Remotely adjustable thermostatic valve



June 12, 1956 F. PASCOLINI- 2,750,117

REMOTELY ADJUSTABLE THERMOSTATIC VALVE Filed April 2, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3a 24 F/ G. 2

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52720. 1 )Emm w/UMZMQM United States Patent ce REMOTELY ADJUSTABLE THERMOSTATIC VALVE Frank Pascolini, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Application April 2, 1954, Serial No. 420,571

1 Claim. (Cl. 236-34) This invention relates to thermostats and more partic ularly to a Water line thermostat for liquid cooled engines, preferably of the internal combustion type.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a thermostat interposed in the liquid cooling system of an internal combustion engine in which the liquid temperature in the cooling system can always be selectively regulated by manual operation of the operator and which will work automatically to remain open until the desired temperature is reached, at which time the thermostat will automatically close.

With the application of the present thermostat into an existing liquid cooling system of an engine, it is possible to keep the liquid temperature regulated and maintained at a desired degree.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description, forming the specification, and taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, showing the thermostat of the present invention as applied to the motor of an automotive vehicle and the control therefor mounted on the instrument panel of the vehicle;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the thermostat;

Figure 3 is a vertical cross sectional view of the thermostat taken on line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 3; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of Figure 1.

With continued reference to the drawings, there is shown a portion of an internal combustion engine 10 provided with the usual water jacket or passage 12 and an opening 14 in the engine 10 opening externally thereof and in communication with the water jacket 12. A coupling or housing 16 provided with a central chamber 18 is secured on the engine 10 so as to have a dependent annular flange 20 formed'on the housing 16 received within the opening 14 so that the chamber 18 Which opens through the flange 20 is in communication with the Water jacket 12. The housing or coupling 16 is provided with a pair of laterally projecting mounting ears 22 and 24 which is adapted to overlie the top of the engine 16 and is provided with suitable openings to receive studs 26 extending through the openings in the respective ears so that the coupling or housing 16 may be properly located on the engine 10 with the flange 20 properly seating within the opening 14, and the housing secured on the engine 10 by nuts 28 threadingly carried on the externally threaded end of the studs 26. A gasket 30 is interposed between the bottom surface of the ears 22 and 24 and the top of the engine 10.

A nipple 32 is formed integrally as a part of the housing L16 and extends laterally and obliquely therefrom at the r 2,750,117 Patented June 12, 1956..

end thereof remote from the flange 20 and opens into the chamber 18 at one end so as to be in communication therewith. The nipple 32 is adapted to receive thereon one end of a radiator water hose 34, the other end of the Water hose being connected to the radiator (not shown) of an automotive vehicle (not shown) in which the water cooled engine is to operate.

A shaft or arbor 36 extends transversely through the chamber 18 of the housing 16 and is journaled in bearing bosses 38 disposed in diametrically opposite relation on the housing 16 and extending outwardly therefrom in axial alignment. The shaft or arbor 36 extends beyond the housing 16 at opposite ends and the actual bearing for the shaft 36 is provided by a central longitudinal bore through a bolt 40, the threaded shank of which is received by the internal threading in the opening through the respective bearing bosses 38. Thus, each of the bearing bosses 38 is provided with a similar bolt 40 through which the shaft 36 extends. A look nut 42 is threadingly received on the threaded portion 44 of the shaft 36 which extends beyond the housing 16 to one side thereof so that the bearing bolt 40 will be securely locked in its threaded engagement in the bearing bosses 38. The bolts 46 may also be considered as packing gland bolts since the ends thereof remote from the head portion of each of the bolts 40 are in contact with a packing ring or gland 41 disposed at the base of each of the bearing bosses 38 to prevent the escape of liquid through the openings in the housing 16 through which the shaft 36 extends. Each of the bolts 40 may be adjusted by threading them more tightly into the internally threaded bore of the respective bosses 38 so that the packing ring can be tightened in the event any leakage occurs at this point. With the bolts 40 in their properly adjusted position with respect to the packing rings or glands 41, they are maintained in this position by a lock nut 42 threadingly received in the threaded portion 44 of the shaft 36 which extends beyond the housing 16 to one side thereof, and by a washer 45 carried on the threaded portion 46 of the shaft 36 extending outwardly from the housing 16 to the side thereof opposite the side from which the threaded portion 44 extends, and a spring 48 surrounds the threaded portion 46 of the shaft 36 and has one end thereof bearing against the Washer 45 so as to maintain the washer in abutting relation with the end of the head of the bolt 40. The other end of the spring 48 bears against a nut 50 carried on the threaded portion 44 in spaced relation to the bolt 40 and the washer 45, and the nut 50 is maintained in this selected spaced relation by a lock nut 52 also carried on the threaded portion 46. Thus, the spring 48 will maintain a pressure upon the packing ring and bearing bolt 4%) carried on the threaded portion 46 of the shaft 36 and will also spring-load the shaft 36.

Heat-sensitive means in the form of a coil spring 54 is disposed within the chamber 18, and is preferably of the well known bi-metal type. The inner end 56 of the coil spring 54 is secured to the shaft 36 and the outer end .58 of the heat-sensitive coil spring 54 is formed as a barrel by rolling the end thereof into a tubular formation to receive therein one leg of a Z-arm 60, the other leg of which is received in a longitudinal bore provided in-a boss 62 formed on a butterfly valve 64 which is journaled centrally intermediate thereof on a pivot pin 66 extending transversely across the chamber 18 of the housing 16 at the end thereof opening to the opening 14 in the engine 10, a pivot pin 66 is journaled in the housing 16 at its opposite ends and extends in spaced parallel relation to the shaft 36. The butterfly valve 64 operates in the normal manner to rotate about the pivot pin 66 in an arcuate path to open and close the end of the chamber 18 which opens into the Water jacket 12 through the opening 14. Thus, the operation of functioning of the valve 64 is effected by the functioning of the heat-sensitive means 54 which expands or contracts in response to the temperature of the liquid passing through the chamber 18 from the water jacket 12 to flow into the Water hose 34 and the radiator of the automotive vehicle under the in fluence of a water pump (not shown).

It will be apparent that by operation of the butterfly valve 64, the temperature of the liquid coolant in the motor can be regulated. In order to selectively regulate the liquid coolant temperature, there is provided a manually operable means operatively connected to the heatsensitive means, coil spring 54, through the shaft 36 so that the heat-sensitive means can be set to operate at a given temperature. This manually operable means by which the heat-sensitive means can be preset comprises an arm 68 threadingly carried on the threaded portion 44 of the shaft 36 at the end thereof remote from the housing 16, and maintained in a fixed position thereon by the nut 70 and lock nut 72. A flexible cable 74 has one end thereof secured to the distall end of the arm 68 remote from the shaft portion 44 by entering through a suitable opening therein and secured in the opening by a set screw 76. The other end of the flexible cable remote from its connection to the arm 68 has secured thereto an elongated operating handle 78 which is provided longitudinally thereof and at one side with a plurality of notches 80. As clearly shown in Figure l, the handle 78 is mounted on the instrument panel 82 of an automotive vehicle in a bearing sleeve 84 for longitudinal movement therethrough in a rectilinear path. The bearing sleeve has one end thereof externally threaded and extending to the side of the instrument panel 82 remote from the motor 10, so that a nut 86 may be threaded thereon to secure the bearing sleeve 84 on the instrument panel 82. That portion of the bearing sleeve 84 which extends to the side of the instrument panel adjacent the motor is of enlarged diameter to provide a shoulder 88 which bears against the inner surface of the instrument panel 82 so that the nut 86 by bearing against the front of the instrument panel will rigidly secure the bearing sleeve 84 thereon. The enlarged portion 85 of the bearing sleeve has intermediate its length an annular groove 90 a portion of which is enlarged to form a recess 92 so that a spring clip 94 may be secured therein with the bight portion 96 thereof extending transversely across the handle 78 to engage in respective ones of the notches 80 and thereby releasably maintain the handle in a selected position in its rectilinear path of movement.

As will be noted from Figure 6, the recess 92 has a straight bottom surface extending as a chord of sleeve 85, while each notch 80 also has a straight bottom surface, extending as a chord of handle 78. The bight 96 of the spring clip is also straight, and engages against the straight bottom surfaces of the registering recess and notch to hold the sleeve and handle against relative longitudinal movement and also against relative rotation, the latter characteristic being desirable not only to insure positively that the table will not, over a period of time, become axially twisted under circumstances that would prevent free longitudinal movement thereof, but also to insure that calibrations or indices, provided upon the exposed portion of the handle in a manner to be described hereinafter, will at all times be faced upwardly to permit ready inspection thereof. Still further, the arrangement is one which insures the retention of handle 78 in selected positions to which it is longitudinally shifted, but at the same time interengages the sleeve and handle over a minimum circumferential distance, so that there will be no difliculty in disengaging the same when the handle is to be longitudinally adjusted in respect to the sleeve.

Thus by gripping the knob 79 on the end of the handle 76 remote from the end connected to the flexible cable 74, the handle 78 may be moved in its rectilinear path through the sleeve bearing 84 and be retained in a selected position by the engagement of the bight 96 with the spring clip 94 in the selected notch 80. That portion of the handle 78 which projects beyond the end of the bearing sleeve 84 remote from the flexible cable 74 may be provided with suitable indices to indicate the selected position to which the handle has been moved, the end face of the bearing sleeve 84 may act as the indicator, and these indices will be preferably marked in degrees of temperature ranging from 100 to in steps in ten or twenty degrees.

A U-shaped bracket 98 has one leg thereof secured upon the end face of the bearing sleeve 84 remote from the end thereof adjacent the knob 79 and extends outwardly therefrom toward the housing 16 with the opposite leg thereof mounting thereon one end of a cable sheath 100, with the cable sheath or guard to which the flexible cable 74 will move, being supported adjacent its end remote from the supporting bracket 98 by a bracket 102 extending upwardly and outwardly from its connection upon the mounting car 20 of the housing 16.

It will be appreciated that movement of the handle 78 will also cause the flexible cable 74 to move the arm 68 and thereby impart rotation to the shaft 36 so that the tension on the heat-sensitive means, coil spring 54, may be selectively varied. With the selective variation in the tension of the coil spring 54, it will require different predetermined temperatures to cause the heat-sensitive means 54 to expand or contract, as the case may be, in order to function in such manner as to cause the butterfly valve 64 to open or close the passage from the water jacket 12 through the housing 16 and into the radiator hose 34. Once the operating handle 78 has been set so as to preset the heat-sensitive means 54, the heat-sensitive means will be operative to automatically close the butterfly valve 64 when the liquid reaches the desired temperature. When the motor 10 is not operating, hence being cooled, the butterfly valve 64 will be closed by the heat-sensitive means 54.

In order to eliminate the possibility of the arm 68 being moved too far in its arcuate path as by pulling the handle 78 too far and thereby causing overheating of the engine 10, a stop piece 104 is interposed in the path of movement of the arm 68 to limit movement thereof in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1. One end of the stop 104 is received upon the stud 26 in the mounting car 24 and secured by the nut 28. The portion of the stop which extends upwardly from the ear 24 is twisted as at 106 so as to extend to one side of the cable 74, while the head 108 extends laterally outwardly from the twisted portion 104 to overlie the cable 74 and be disposed in the path of movement of the arm 68. The stop 104 also serves to prevent accidental injury to the heat-sensitive means 54 by limiting the pull on the handle 78, and eliminates the necessity for re-adjustment of the thermostat when the engine or parts thereof are being repaired.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that there has been provided in an automotive vehicle of the type having a liquid cooled engine which provides power for the vehicle and which has an instrument panel in the vehicle cab, a thermostat having a chamber therein which defines a passage interposed in a liquid cooling system, said thermostat comprising a housing 16 mounted on the motor 10, a shaft 36 journaled in the housing and extending transversely thereof, a heat-sensitive means 54 fixedly carried by the shaft 36, a butterfly valve 66 arranged at one end of the chamber 18 and operatively connected to the heat-sensitive means 54 to open and close the passage defined by the chamber 18 in response to the functioning of the heat-sensitive means 54, an arm 68 secured on the threaded portion 44 of the shaft 36 externally of the housing 16, a flexible cable 74 secured at one end to the arm 68, an operating handle 76 mounted on the instrument panel 82 for movement in a rectilinear path and connected to the other end of the cable 74, a bearing sleeve 84 through which the handle 78 moves, and interengaging means carried by the sleeve 84 and the handle 78, this means being defined by the spring clip 94 and the notches 80, to releasably secure the handle 78 in a selected position in its rectilinear path of movement whereby the shaft 36 may be rotated to selectively set the heat-sensitive means 54 to function at a given temperature in a well known manner.

While there are shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the structure is susceptible to change and modification within the practicability of the invention and therefore should be limited only by the scope of the claim appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

In a thermostat to be mounted in a liquid coolant flow passage of an internal combustion engine cooling system, a housing connected in said housing and adapted for the How of coolant therethrough; a shaft journalled in the housing; thermally responsive valve means connected to the shaft for controlling the flow of coolant through the housing; and remotely controlled means for rotating the shaft and holding the same in selected positions to which it is rotated to adjustably preset the valve means, including a cable having at one end a motion translating connection to the shaft adapted to rotate the shaft on longitudinal movement of the cable, an operating handle on the other end of the cable, a sleeve having an axial bore in which said handle is longitudinally slidable, said sleeve having at one side thereof a transverse recess formed with a straight bottom surface extending chordally of the sleeve, said recess communicating with the bore of the sleeve, the sleeve having a circumferentially extending external groove the ends of which open into the respective ends of the recess, the cable having a longitudinal series of transverse notches selectively registrable with the recess on longitudinal movement of the handle within the sleeve, each notch having a straight bottom surface extending chordally of the handle, and a U-shaped spring clip having a straight bight extending within the registering notch and recess in engagement with the bottom surfaces thereof, to hold the sleeve and handle against relativelongitudinal and relative rotary movement, said clip having curved legs tensioned to engage in diametrically opposite portions of said groove for releasably holding the bight in the registering notch and recess.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.20,584 Jorgensen Dec. 14, 1937 1,339,811 Dobrick May 11, 1920 1,725,607 Wolfard Aug. 20, 1929 1,826,160 Woolson Oct. 6, 1931 2,479,392 Miller Aug. 16, 1949 

